AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My heart pounded in my ears as I clung to Frank, desperate to just get the hell out of there. I swallowed hard and looked ahead, seeing that the Tahoe was surrounded.
“This is fuckin’ nuts,” Frank muttered, shaking his head. “We’re gonna have to go back to the school.”
“No,” I argued. “I just want to go home.”
“I don’t think I can get you there safely. I need more help. This crowd is crazy.” Just as the words left his mouth, he was proven right, as someone threw a soft drink at us. The cup exploded against my shirt, soaking my thin blue blouse.
“That’s what you get for taking our man!”
I felt the sobs welling up in my chest as Frank spun us around and nearly lifted me into the air as he broke into a trot back to the school building. I fumbled with my keys, and he shielded me as I unlocked the building. The crowd funneled to the door, but Frank was able to close it.
“I’ll find the director and tell her to call the police. This is just rowdy.”
“What if they don’t leave?” I called after him, feeling a tear roll down my cheek.
“They will. They’re nuts, but the moment the cop car flashes at them, they usually disperse.” With that, Frank disappeared down the hallway, headed to find Melissa. I unlocked my classroom, slipping out of sight of the people with their phones outside.
This is absolute madness.
I took a deep, shaky breath and glanced down at my shirt, knowing the dark liquid would leave a nasty stain. My phone buzzed in my bag, and I reached for it, wondering if somehow my cell phone number had gotten out too.
But it hadn’t.
It was Jackson.
“Hello,” I said, trying to sound like nothing was wrong.
“Lena, I’m so sorry. I just heard from Frank. I’m on the way to come and get you.”
“Um…” I hesitated. “I think I’ll be fine. Frank said the crowd should go away once the police show up. Then I can go home.”
He was quiet for a few moments. “You’re going to have to come here…I know you had the weekend at your house…”
“Right,” I said flatly, wiping the anxious sweat from my forehead. “I forgot about me staying with you all the time.”
“Yeah…and we have some things to talk about too.”
“So that’s why you called?” I couldn’t hide my frustration. “It wasn’t really to check on me, was it?”
“Lena, I just said I was on my way to get you. If all I cared about was talking to you, I wouldn’t be on my way.”
I shook my head, fighting off the emotions welling up in my chest—emotions that I really had no right to feel. Jackson didn’t have to care about me at all. It was just business.
“I’ll be there in five minutes,” he said to my silence. “I’m going to come through a back way, even if there’s no one there. I just want to get you out of there without any more problems.”
“Yeah, okay,” I said, shaking my head. I hung up the phone before he could say anything more about it. I needed to get my wits about me before he showed up.
“You okay?” Melissa asked, peeking her head into the classroom.
I turned to her, forcing a smile—even as her eyes widened as they took in the dark stain on my shirt. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
36
JACKSON
“I’ll buy you a new shirt,” I said to Lena as she climbed into the car beside me. “I promise.”
“I don’t want a new shirt.” Her voice was flat as she tugged at the seat belt, pulling it across her lap. “I just want to get away from these people.”
